Soul & Spirit editor Katy Evans gives Reiki a try at the Hale Clinic.
(This article was published in the first issue of Soul&Spirit magazine – December 2007)
Whether you're suffering from a physical condition, have a broken heart, or just want to feel uplifted and more positive, the Japanese healing art of Reiki could provide the key.
Regardless of your personal beliefs, this non-invasive therapy is suitable for all and has helped thousands of people experience both physical and mental health improvements.
Developed in Japan by Mikao Usui in the late 19th Century, Reiki is rooted in Tendai Buddhism (a form of mystical Buddhism), and Shintoism, both of which include methods of controlling and working with energies.
One of Usui's first students, a naval officer named Dr Chujiro Hayashi, is credited for bringing Reiki to the West. Unlike Usui, Hayashi focused more on the treatment aspect rather than the spiritual side, and also introduced the symbols which are now familiar to western Reiki practitioners.
He also published the guide of standard hand positions for different ailments, which was different from Usui's simple and intuitive approach.
Reiki is now used by some NHS hospitals as it can be used effectively alongside more orthodox treatments.
Danira Caleta, a Reiki practitioner of 12 years and a member of the Association of Therapeutic Healers, says she was told by a doctor that science could not explain how Reiki works, “but he said that as long as it keeps producing beneficial results, to keep doing it”.
During a session, the practitioner contacts universal energy which is channeled though their hands and into the patient. It doesn't usually involve any touching, as with many other healing systems, though the practitioner's hands may get to within a few inches of the body and occasionally touch the head and feet very lightly.
“When I scan a patient, I feel sensations in my hands where there are blockages,” says Danira.
Reiki is different to spiritual healing in that the type of energy utilised by the therapist differs. “Both Reiki healers and spiritual healers will be transferring higher energy, but with spiritual healers they call on spirit guides, which we don't tend to do,” says Danira.
“But with Reiki or any type of spiritual healing, it's about picking up on the blocks in energy and helping to get them moving. I use my hands as a tool to then channel universal energy.”
Self healing
As well as her healing treatments, Danira teaches clients how to activate their own inner doctors so they can start to heal themselves. This involves showing clients how to do abdominal breathing. She also leads them into a guided meditation to prepare the patient to receive the healing.
“We start with a Chi Kung breathing technique to activate the flow of energy around the chakras, then onto a guided meditation, using nature images, to get the brain into an alpha state, which is more conducive to receiving healing. It's like having a virtual day out at the beach or in a forest,” explains Danira.
Doing this, she says, helps the vortex-shaped energy around the chakras to spin more evenly. And it is the chakras that Danira works with when giving Reiki, working on each one and then bringing energy up from the feet and across the whole body.
“Often, the patient will feel heat, cold or a tingling sensation but they could also experience colours or a white light,” says Danira.
Although patients are asked what aspects they require help with, Danira says she can often intuitively pick up on areas that need work, which the patient may have forgotten or didn't want to mention.
Danira works a lot with cancer patients, sufferers of ME, and those with sports injuries. She also sees people with anxiety, phobias, digestive problems, asthma, migraine, insomnia, depression, rheumatic pain, and those suffering grief and trauma or even heartache.
“Many people play down the pain they feel when a relationship has ended but at the time they can feel quite gutted and as if a part of them has gone. In that case, I would work a lot on the heart chakra until the blocked emotions have shifted. It wont go away 100% but even in one treatment people can feel more calm and in control of their feelings.”
The treatment.
After a brief chat about any physical or emotional problems I have, I got onto the couch facing upwards. We began with about ten abdominal breaths, after which Danira got me to imagine being in a beautiful garden, with lots of roses and large, old trees. I was encouraged to explore different aspects of the garden and stay there while the Reiki was being given.
I kept my eyes closed throughout but was aware of Danira's hands flitting from one area to another. I didn't sense any particularly hot or cold sensations, as she said I might, but when her hands were over my eyes, it definitely felt as if the air pressure between her hands and my forehead was quite dense and heavy, pressing down on me. I did feel a very light touch on a few occasions, just a finger tip, when her hands came very close. She also asked me to turn over half way through so she could work on my back (and the chakras are also at the back, too). Afterwards I was so relaxed I didn't want to leave the bed.
I had gone there feeling extremely tired (and had dozed on the train) but after an initial sleepiness, felt a lot more alert and awake. My eyes were brighter and I felt energized and positive. Danira told me about what she'd picked up on from feeling my energy, a lot of which was over the heart and the solar plexus chakras. This made sense to me as I'd had an upset stomach and had been holding on to old emotions (and the stomach, she says, is not just about digesting food but about digesting emotions).
I certainly felt much more buoyant after the treatment.
<n> Danira Caleta gives Reiki at the Hale Clinic, London. Treatments cost £90. Call 020 7631 0156 or visit haleclinic.com.
